The number of fraud cases and the average loss per case have also more than doubled. June saw a record high, as total losses exceeded €2 million.

According to Viktor Tkatšenko, head of Citadele Bank's anti-money laundering department, the nature of fraudulent schemes has also changed.

"Fraudsters are increasingly speaking in Estonian and using artificial intelligence (AI) to appear as credible as possible," said Tkatšenko.

Bank scams are a type of financial fraud, whereby someone attempts to obtain the victim's personal data and PIN codes. In most cases, the criminals pose as bank employees.

It is common for someone to call claiming to be from the "bank" to say that an unknown person has attempted to take out a loan in the victim's name, their personal data has been leaked, or that suspicious transactions are taking place on the person's account.

Using this story, criminals trick their victims into providing them with all kinds of personal data ranging from identification codes and online banking usernames to document photo. Some may even persuade victims to give them remote access to their computer.

Having gained access to people's private data, fraudsters then transfer the money from their accounts or take out loans in the victim's name. In another variation of this scenario, fraudsters pose as bank security staff or mobile operators, using the pretext of contract renewal, account security checks or attempts to take out a loan in the victim's name.

This summer, there were also numerous cases in which people were called and told that a package or registered letter had arrived at Omniva and a personal identification code was needed for processing purposes. In other cases, people were told their electricity meters needed to be replaced and asked to enter their bank PIN codes for the work to be carried out.

After a while, the victims ae often contacted again, this time by someone posing as the "bank," who informs them that suspicious transactions have been detected on their account. They then may be asked them to transfer money to a secure account or give their bank cards and cash to a courier who will allegedly take them to a safe place.

Banks emphasize that they never ask customers for PIN codes or ask them to make transfers to secure their accounts. Neither government agencies nor couriers collect people's bank cards or cash.

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